


Dissension

by imperfectinsanity



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Historical Inaccuracy, Homophobic Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Violence, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-30 01:08:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10149641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imperfectinsanity/pseuds/imperfectinsanity
Summary: The year was 1693 when the feud between the Bennett and Parker covens culminated in the deaths of seven witches. Although the covens try to move forward by forging an alliance between them, it seems as though history is doomed to repeat itself when the last Bennett witch is cursed to 323 years of sleep. It's 2017 when Malachai Parker finally wakes her up in a world that she is completely lost in. Everyone she has ever known or loved is gone, and so she turns to her old enemy to teach her how to live again. Cue a round-the-world road trip, a whole lot of secrets and betrayal, a centuries old feud, and maybe just a little bit of love along the way.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just going to warn you now that I am terrible at updating, but if you guys like this leave me some comments and kudos and I will try my very best to keep going. Just a warning for historical inaccuracy and some things that may need to be tagged in the future (this could get quite graphic as far as violence and sex goes, but I haven't decided yet). A warning for slight homophobic language in this first chapter. Also child abuse. I considered tagging this as underage, but considering it occurs mostly in the year 2017 (when they are both hundreds of years old, technically) I didn't, but you should know that I imagine Bonnie to be 17 and Kai between the ages of 20-22 physically.

* * *

_The year 1694_

* * *

Autumn leaves spiraled down and swept across the fields in smooth strokes that broke up the monotony of a pale yellow foreground. The sun hung low in the sky, casting blood orange shadows over the fresh white paint of the Parker manor.

From looking at it, one might not have guessed that this place had been a hot spot for controversy just over a year ago. One might not guess that this place was stained with blood. Yet, Malachai Parker could still feel an echo of death in the halls, even where the younger Parker children played with their wooden horses and dollies as if they hadn’t a care in the world. He could still hear the bloodcurdling screams, smell the burning flesh, and see those ravenous flames. These were the subjects of nightmares for most people. For Kai, they were reality, and the screams dulled the chaos in his own mind.

History would say that 20 people died in the Salem witch trials, but no one would hear about the seven people who were burned alive in Mystic Falls. Kai had his own father to thank for that cover up.

_"We have the blood of your brothers and sisters on our hands, but we will not let their deaths be in vain. This feud has brought nothing but bloodshed and misery, but we will not let that define our futures. The Bennett and Gemini covens will join together in marriage and finally put this feud to rest so that our loved ones may find peace.”_

That was Joshua Parker’s justification for brain-washing an entire town into thinking that those seven had died in a terrible house fire, and that was his justification for forcing Kai and the last surviving Bennett witch into an unhappy betrothal.

It had been a year since the fire and Kai had not seen Bonnie Bennett since. He would never forget the way her face went ashen and how her emerald eyes had captured the flames and strangled them, as if she would hold the image of her mother and grandmother’s deaths in them forever. He had never seen a look so chilling on a living person’s face. Then there was her piercing screech, rivaling the cries of those actually burning at the stake. The next day they made the promise to be wed and to put the deaths behind them. It was that simple for his father.

That had all taken place outside of his old family home, which they had burned to the ground to cover up their deaths. They had finally rebuilt it, in almost the exact same way that it had been before, and his father insisted on hosting the wedding there. Kai thought it gloriously morbid to host a wedding in the same spot where his siblings had been turned to ashes, but his father said that it would be a symbol of unity coming out of destruction.

That was how Kai ended up standing in front of a gilded mirror while a tailor made adjustments to his suit. The melody of an orchestra was carried on the wings of the sweet smell of peonies through the halls, and the feeling of death was just a tad more subtle than usual.

“Stand up straight,” a rough voice commanded from the doorway. Kai caught a glimpse of his father in the mirror, graying in his old age, and did as he asked. “Good. It fits you well. I can only hope she will fit you just as nicely. You need a woman to make you into someone worthy of leading the coven.”

“You’re a fool if you think anyone could change me,” Kai laughed, gesturing for the tailor to leave the room. “I hate to disappoint you, father, but I have always been and will always be your _disgusting abomination._ ”

A slap sounded through the room, Joshua’s rings leaving an imprint on Kai’s cheek.

“Don’t let yourself believe for one second that I don’t know what role you had in their deaths Malachai,” his father hissed. “The only reason you’re alive is because Lucas can’t represent this coven himself.”

“Better a siphon than a queer? Oh, I’m sorry dad, I should be _so_ grateful for that. It would be a shame if you treated your kids with any sense of decency. Thankfully, I have never expected anything more. You let me know _exactly_ how you feel about me,” Kai sneered, and he was certain that would have earned him another slap if a maid hadn’t walked by just then. She stopped at the door and cleared her throat.

“Mr. Parker? The guests are waiting. The lady has just arrived.”

“I guess that’s my cue,” the younger Parker nodded politely toward the maid. His father turned on his heels and followed her out the door, still fuming from their brief conversation.

There were petals decorating the floor of the main entrance. At the bottom of the stairs was the minister and rows of guests, all on the edge of their seats. It wasn’t everyday that a Bennett-Parker alliance was made. Not only that, but most of them had heard whispers of what had actually occurred here only a year ago. Of course, though, none of them knew the whole truth.

Kai smiled smugly as he made his way to the front, all eyes on him. Although he wouldn’t act on it, he wondered how the crowd would react if he reached out and curled his fingers around his grandfather’s neck and strangled him. He imagined how their faces would morph from curiosity to utter terror if he suddenly grabbed his Aunt Anastasia’s jaw and sucked the life from her, draining her of all of her precious magic. Would his bride to be scream in terror if she started down the steps to find a collection of corpses awaiting her?

The vivid image faded from his thoughts as he stood by the minister, milky blue eyes following the steps upwards into oblivion. The crowd turned as Pachelbel’s Canon in D began to play and the first peek of a silky blue dress spilled over the top step. As Bonnie moved down, alone, Kai’s gaze wandered over her form. The dress itself was not particularly ornate, lacking any detail except white lace fringe. The blue, however, emphasized the warmth of her skin. The fabric fell from her shape like water, and though the cut was modest it didn’t do much to hide her soft curves. Kai might have actually found her enthralling if he cared much about beautiful women. He could recognize how lovely she looked with her hair in loose curls that softened her features, but that was the extent of it. He never found much interest in sexual attraction. All he cared about was the power this alliance would bring him.

Eventually the girl, who lacked any semblance of excitement in her features, came to the bottom and took Kai’s hand. She shot a glance toward his father, and for a moment he recognized something burning beneath those green irises that he hadn’t seen before- hatred. This was not the same girl that he had met a year ago, watching her family burn before her eyes. No, this girl could easily burn _them_ all alive with her stare, and that warmed something in him.

The minister began the ceremony, rambling on in length about the sanctity of marriage, which Kai found laughable considering the situation. Throughout the man’s entire speech he was smiling conceitedly down at the shorter Bennett witch, knowing full and well that she absolutely hated this. He wasn’t keen on it either, but it made him feel a bit better that she wasn’t going to be complacent by his side. No, she would become just as much of a problem for Joshua Parker as he was. Perhaps she could even be a partner in crime. Although, he imagined Bonnie would be a thorn in his own side as well, especially if she ever discovered the truth of what had happened the year before.

The rings were exchanged and a chalice was brought up to the two. Inside the cup was a knife. A look of confusion flicked over Bonnie’s face.

“Gemini tradition,” he explained, taking the knife and Bonnie’s hand. He sliced through her skin in one swift motion, allowing the blood to trickle from her palm into the cup. He then handed the knife to her. Surprisingly, she didn’t even hesitate to take his hand and do the same. In fact, Kai could have sworn she enjoyed it.

“You remember the spell for fire?” Kai whispered, trying not to chuckle at the absurdity of this all. Perhaps the guests would mistake her burning hatred for lust. She nodded in response to his question and gave him a look that said _‘Do you think I’m a complete idiot?’_.

The two of them whispered “Incendia,” in unison. Although, on Kai’s part, it was useless, being that he didn’t have any magic flowing through him. The blood inside the cup went up in flames and evaporated before it was set aside.

“May your union bring peace and prosperity your covens. You may kiss the bride.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Kai raised his brows suggestively and cupped Bonnie’s cheek with the hand that hadn’t been sliced open.  Her skin was soft under his touch, and he couldn’t help but siphon a little bit of her magic, yearning for a taste of it. She jolted backwards, pain twisting her features.

“Great, I’m marrying a leech,” Bonnie huffed, and he realized that it was the first thing she had actually said to him. That made him laugh. A leech, indeed.

He leaned down then, his eyes fluttering shut as his lips lingered over hers. He could feel her dewy breath on his skin, and he wanted to capture it. A sharp pain rocketed through his body just then, like a fire consuming his blood. He tumbled backwards into a table, his legs shaking. It took him a moment to realize that his palm was the source of the burning, the pain searing through the cut there and shooting through his veins.

“What did you do to me?!” Kai shouted, gripping his wrist and looking at the angry red cut on his palm.

“Because of you, all of you, my entire coven is dead!” Bonnie turned toward the crowd, already in chaos. “So, I did what I had to do to make sure that yours would be as well. So kill me for it, torture me, I don’t care. He’ll be dead by tomorrow.”

Kai laughed through his pain, running his fingers over the gash in his palm. There was a sheen of sweat collecting on his skin, soaking through his suit. He fell to the ground and gripped his palm with his other hand. His fingers buzzed with electricity and there was a warm feeling flowing through him.

“What did you do to my son?!” Joshua Parker ran up to the front, grabbing the Bennett witch’s wrist and tugging her forward forcefully. “Reverse it, now!”

“Even if I could, I wouldn’t,” Bonnie spit back in his face, that same anger flooding her features.

“Father, as much as you might think I appreciate you pretending to care about me, I don’t,” Kai laughed breathlessly from where he had fallen on the floor. He grabbed the table and stood up, a deep breath flooding his lungs as he felt power surge through him.

“Well Bon, it’s a shame you never got to know me,” Kai smirked and held a hand up. “Motus,” he howled, sending his father across the room. He crashed against the wall, earning a chorus of shouts from the crowd. They could intervene, but it seemed nobody knew quite how to handle the situation. Bonnie couldn’t be killed, lest they end an entire line of witches and delay Kai’s rise to leadership in the coven for another few years.

“I didn’t see any point. I knew I was going to kill you from the first day we met,” Bonnie shot back. Kai wondered what exactly her first impressions of him were. At the moment she was staring him down with a look that attempted to conceal her confusion at his sudden surge back to health.

“But you see, if you had gotten to know me, you would have known that I could siphon up that werewolf venom you tried to poison me with,” he gestured toward himself with two fingers and Bonnie found herself being dragged forward before she could do anything to stop it. He knew that Bennett witches were powerful, and Bonnie might even be able to take him on if she had more experience, but she was still a teenager. Kai, on the other hand, was a self-proclaimed prodigy.

“So I underestimated you. Can’t blame me for trying. So, what are you going to do? Kill me? Go ahead. Like I said, I would rather be dead than be your wife,” the Bennett witch stood her ground. Her proclamation brought about silence among the crowd.

“You’re a sneaky little witch, aren’t you?” he huffed, brushing back a strand of her hair and locking their gazes. If looks could kill, he’d be dead. “I clearly can’t trust you. And as much as I’d love to take you up on your offer, I can’t kill you either,” there was a pause before he spoke up again, “Ooh, ooh, I got it!” he grinned, quite proud of the devilish plan he’d concocted in just those few seconds. Kai leaned down, his lips brushing against Bonnie’s ear. He whispered something inaudible and the girl collapsed in his arms.

“Malachai, what did you do?!” His father was just regaining his footing from being knocked into the wall.

“Relax, I didn’t kill her. You see, Bonnie’s just going to be taking a little beauty nap,” he explained, setting the girl in an empty chair. He leaned her against his aunt, hooking her arm around the crotchety old woman’s shoulders.

“Where do you think we should keep her? The family crypt?” he asked, raising a brow toward his father. “Ah, who cares. I’m sure you all can take care of that. I’m feeling famished, personally. Who wants dessert?”

* * *

_The year 2017_

* * *

_I’m drowning. No, I’m choking. I am choking on thick, poisonous, smoke. It’s filling my lungs. It’s burning my throat and spilling out of my nostrils. It tastes like iron and salt. It’s the first thing I have felt in ages._

The first feeling Bonnie had was what she imagined death to be. There was stale, cold, air brushing goosebumps over her skin. Everything smelt like dust and decay, including her own body. She was frozen there, eyes unopened. Then the light peeked in and danced across her eyelids and she coughed, gasping and wheezing and clutching the fabric beneath her. She shot up in her spot, blinking and trying to adjust to the disorienting feeling of being awake.

“Oh, hey there sleepy head,” a familiar voice captured her attention and set her on edge. Bonnie’s head turned to see Kai sitting beside her. A feeling of fear shook through her core and she curled her fingers tightly around the wood beside her. She was in a coffin.

“I have to admit, I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to undo this spell by myself. I mean, it was my own spell, so it should have been easy, am I right? But then this spell was just so damn archaic I had forgotten the words. I tried to find something at the local library to help me out, but there’s a shortage of historically accurate spell books,” he snickered, “So here I was, completely at a loss- and then I just happened upon this old Gemini grimoire and whoop, whatdoyaknow? I have not lost the magic touch,” the Gemini witch had that same ugly smirk on his lips that he had the last time she’d seen him.

“What-” Bonnie tried to speak but her voice cracked, her mouth incredibly parched.

“Woah there horsey, might wanna take it a bit slow. Ixnay on the whole talking thing,” Kai laughed, grabbing a plastic water bottle and handing it to her. “Drink,” he told her. She didn’t have to be told twice, downing nearly the whole thing in a matter of seconds.

“How long?” she breathed, and he rolled his eyes at her.

“Hello? I just said no talking,” he took the empty bottle from her and tossed it on the floor.

She took a moment then to look around, finally taking in their surroundings. There was a stained glass window that let in the only bit of light in an otherwise dull and gray cement building. It seemed they were in some sort of tomb.

"I said, how long have I been asleep?” Bonnie repeated, her voice a little less groggy thanks to the water.

“Cutting right to the chase. A no bullshit kind of woman. You see, this is why our marriage would have worked out just fine if you, you know, hadn’t tried to kill me. I’m fine, by the way, thanks for askin-”

Bonnie held out her hand and used her magic to grab Kai by the throat and shut him up.

“Okay! Okay!” he wheezed. She dropped her hands to the edge of the coffin then and hooked her legs over the side, attempting to climb out.

“You might want to stay in there, actually. You don’t have your land legs yet.” She shot him a glare and all she got in return was something resembling remorse flickering across his face.

“Bon,” he inhaled, nostrils flaring, “You’ve been asleep for 323 years.”

Bonnie tumbled out of the coffin and onto the icy cement. She just sat there, staring at the ground and trying to process what Kai had just said to her. One of her hands had been scraped in the fall and blood began to collect on the floor.

“Three...hundred,” the girl whispered to herself, as if saying it would make the reality any better.

“I know it’s a lot to take in but if you would just let me help you, I came here to make it up to you.”

“Get out,” the Bennett commanded, her teeth clenching together.

“I’m not the same person I was, Bonnie. I’ve changed. I realize now that I may have overreacted,” Kai froze seeing nothing but rage in Bonnie’s eyes when she looked up at him. Her body was actually shaking from it.

“I said. Get. Out!” Her scream echoed through the crypt, shattering the stained glass window and sending a crack up one of the walls.

Outside the wind was howling through the trees, whipping stray twigs through the air like they were nothing. Kai put his hands up defensively and nodded once before leaving.

When he was gone she felt like she could finally breathe. Only then did she let the sobs rack her body, tears burning her skin and her fingers grating at the ground uselessly. Her own voice rang in her ears.

_I would rather be dead._

 


End file.
